Heir of the Underground

Chapter 14: Aurelia (continued)

It was hot, though not nearly as hot as she expected. In fact, it grew quite comforting once her whole body breached the surface. Perhaps she had her magic to thank for that. And the bubbling tickled her, making her laugh. She felt herself sinking though. The water came to Kassius's shoulders, but he towered above her in height..

"Come closer," Kassius suggested, as he watched her fighting the water, trying to make herself float­ unsuccessfully.

She hesitated, though gave in as her fear of the water took over. Holding his hands tightly, she paddled her way closer, so that she was almost clinging to his chest.

It felt strange being so close to him. But she felt safer, more stable, and that was all that mattered. Aurelia took a deep breath, allowing her heart to calm down and stop racing, and relished the feeling of the water.

"Are you alright now?" Kassius asked.

"I am," Aurelia assured him. With one hand holding on to him and his arms around her, she used her free arm to sift through the water, scooping some of it up into her hand. Even then, it sparkled, like liquified sapphires.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes," she marveled, "it really is." She beamed at the water, continuing to swish it around with her arms. "If this is so beautiful, I can only imagine what that other pond you keep talking of is like."

"Urd's pond—yes, it's lovely. It glitters like this and surrounds the Willow."

Aurelia nodded, though curiosity gnawed at her. "Who is Urd anyway? You speak of her and the pond often, but I never learned what she stands for."

"She's a deity, much like Iv. While he is represents the past, she represents the future. And she surrounds the Willow, who represents life." He watched Aurelia play with the water as he continued, "You'll get to witness her pond for yourself soon enough."

Aurelia stopped, turning to look up at him. "I will?"
"Yes, at my coronation." He grew silent after that, something leaving his face. Joy, perhaps? And what was there now—guilt?

"So you really are to be king soon?" He nodded. "How soon?"

He gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "My father hasn't announced it yet. There's a certain day it must take place, one that Urd gave my father on the day he was crowned." Kassius's gaze shifted out, almost above him, distant and recollective. "It's tradition for a new king to submerge himself in Urd's pond, much like this, so that she may whisper to him the day of his death and the rise of a new king."

"The day of his death?" Aurelia gawked. Death? "Does that mean that your father is about to die? He certainly doesn't look like he's about to."

Kassius's frown deepened and his mind seemed to cloud itself even more, growing farther and farther away. "I..." He tried to find the words to explain himself, but struggled. "Well, see... there's a tradition." His expression only grew darker. "Urd tells a king the day when the next coronation must take place, when it's time for a new leader to rise to power. And the way that... a new king can only become king when... if..."

"If the old king dies?" Aurelia finished his explanation for him, to which he nodded.

Then he added, "At the new king's hand."

It took a moment for his words to set in, for them to sink their claws into Aurelia's mind. But once they had, she gasped and threw her hands up. If not for Kassius holding her as well, she would've fallen straight into the water.

"You have to kill your father?"

Kassius's quiet "yes" was all the confirmation he gave, and it was enough to leave Aurelia speechless as well.